A few months ago LUSH sent me these solid shampoo bars to take for a spin and now that I've had a good amount of time to get acquainted with each of them, it's time to share my thoughts.

So why solid shampoo? These wee discs of wonder are ideal for travelling (it's not a liquid you have to allow for in your carry-on luggage), self preserving, packaging free, long lasting and more importantly, when you have the right one for your hair type - they really work.

I was sent Montalbano (yellow), Brazilliant (orange) and Jason and the Argan Oil (pink). There are fourteen shampoo bars available from LUSH in total, with a shampoo bar tin available separately for $4.90NZD. The shampoo bars are all $15.90, except Trichomania, which is $15.50 and also not round, so probably won't fit in the shampoo bar tin unless you're willing to bust out some carving skills.

To use the shampoo bars, LUSH suggest scrubbing them through your roots until you've worked up a good lather, then rinsing your hair as you normally would. For medium-long hair I find that I need to rub the bar through my ends to generate enough lather to wash all of my hair. These definitely don't foam the way sulfate laden regular shampoos do, so (for me at least), using them is a little more effort.

Now these shampoo bars were randomly selected for me by LUSH's PR, so whether or not they would suit my hair was really luck of the draw. I tried all of them in turn and found that neither Brazilliant nor Jason and the Argan Oil suit my hair type, which is thick, somewhat dry and damaged from years of hair colouring and heat styling but easily weighed down. I wash my hair about twice a week and nothing bums me out like lank, greasy, lifeless hair the day after washing (which I got with Brazilliant and Jason and the Argan Oil). If I'm using shampoo & conditioner that suits my hair, I can easily get three days out of a hair wash with my hair remaining soft, bouncy and with a bit of shine, before oil buildup means I need to use dry shampoo or (obviously) wash it again. So after a few goes each, Brazilliant and Jason and the Argan Oil were out of the running. Fortunately I have two sisters with different hair types who were happy to be blog guinea pigs and try out Brazilliant and Jason and the Argan Oil for me, so I'll share their thoughts below.

These shampoo bars are really long lasting so you do get a lot for your money. There's still quite a bit left of my Montalbano, although it has crumbed a bit. This is largely due to when I travelled with it and put it back in my toiletry bag damp with other items, they do need to be allowed sufficient time to dry out again or placed in a container to keep them safe while still damp. I don't have a shampoo bar tin, so I use one of LUSH's recyclable black pots instead and that has worked very well. It's best not to leave them sitting in the shower exposed to water as they will melt away!

Strengthen and condition hair with andiroba oil, a new ingredient we are using from the Brazilian rainforest, and lift your mood with sunny orange oil.

Brazilliant unfortunately did nothing for my hair, but my sister Casey had a much better time with it. She says that after using it, it took longer for her hair to get greasy again compared to when she uses regular shampoo. She was impressed with how little product she needed to wash her hair (which is thick, shoulder length and virgin) and that it was very easy to wash out.

On a quest for stronger, shinier, softer hair? Try this argan oil-packed, Rose Jam-scented bar. Ideal for those with lighter hair tones.
NB. LUSH also say in their demonstration video that this is a mild shampoo suitable for coloured hair.

Jason and the Argonauts was another flop for me, surprising as my hair usually loves argan oil! I passed it on to my sister Amy, who has very thick hair with moderate curls and all the frizz fighting that entails and she initially enjoyed it much more than I. Amy found using it a bit of learning curve at first and the minimal lather compared to regular shampoos a bit jarring. After getting more familiar with it she has reported back that it just didn't suit her hair and she had the same problem as I did with her hair being greasy again the day after washing. She did enjoy the scent though.

Sicilian lemon oil, olives and rosemary make this the godfather of shampoos for shiny hair. A really citrusy shampoo bar to leave the hair squeaky clean.

Montalbano is the shampoo bar that stole my heart and I'll definitely repurchase it when it's all gone. I scrub it all through my hair to get a good lather going on and then let it sit for a minute before rinsing it out. I like to alternate it with a few other shampoos I have on the go at the moment, but I keep coming back to Montalbano as it gets my hair really clean (works wonderfully as a clarifying shampoo) and adds shine. The scent is subtle but quite refreshing.

LUSH products can be purchased at LUSH Online (NZ) or you can find your nearest LUSH store using the store locator. International readers can find their local LUSH site here!
Have you tried any solid shampoo bars before? What do you think of them?